This book is recommended to all who are interested in children professionally or emotionally. It is a rapid journey packed full of stimulating and provocative impressions, information, thoughts, and insights. It is written in a clear, flowing style that holds one's interest. There is an ingenious interweaving of observational data, comparisons with American ways and attitudes, speculations, and interpretative conclusions. The book reveals that an awesome amount of work was done by the author in seven weeks of observing, and in studying and clarifying his findings.

Bettelheim discloses an energetic, keen, broadly knowledgeable mind. When he has a bias, he is unafraid to say so. On page 325 he writes that one of his reasons for studying kibbutz child rearing was that he 'could not accept' reports 'on how destructive it is for children to be reared away from their mothers'. He minimizes the